Yes, the Cooperstown Theater was the same as Smalley’s Theatre. I was in Cooperstown from 1970-77; the theater was one of the Main Street activities available. With two showings each evening, the theater had a main seating area on the first floor and a balcony that was closed for the entire time I was there. The stage looked as if it had originally been constructed for stage shows. I have quite a few schedule brochures from the theater. The loss was a tragic one for the town, which has in the years since lost just about everything from Main Street except for the omnipresent baseball souvenir shops. A pity.

I was just in Cooperstown this week. They hardly roll up the sidewalks. Up until 9:00 p.m. and even later most of the stores were still open and there were people all over downtown. The theatre looks great on the outside, but has been gutted on the inside. The auditorium is a baseball memorabilia shop and the stage house is apartments. The proscenium visible inside the back room is the only interior remnant of the theatre.

I saw many movies here before it closed in November, 1987. I was young and impressionable then, just a kid learning to love film. This place had a huge influence on me. I remember seeing E.T., Return Of The Jedi, Harry & The Hendersons, The Aristocats, Transformers: The Movie, The Great Mouse Detective, and Pinocchio. I also recall posters for Predator and The Black Cauldron. And even though it was technically called “The Cooperstown Theater,” everyone in town still called it “Smalley’s.”

The theater’s closure in ‘87 was a huge loss to the community but it just couldn’t compete with the mall theater in Oneonta in terms of new releases. As well, the first video stores were starting to open so the writing was on the wall, I guess. The son of the last owner still projected films from time-to-time in our High School afterward. I remember attending a screening of “The Soldier Of Orange” that he held at a local church.

The marquee is still there, lit up at night, though it is starting to look old and a little run-down. It’s a shame the Baseball Hall Of Fame didn’t step in and save it, use it to run baseball films or something, instead of turning it into another tourist trap souvenir stand.